High School Sports

St. Francis High junior Nash Horton missed the 2023 baseball season due to a major injury to his pitching shoulder.  While still in an arm sling, he was told to jot down any goals he had in mind.  What started as a short list turned into...

WATSONVILLE—There was no doubt one day that Joe Gregorio was going to take over as the head coach of the Watsonville High football team.  It was never a matter of if he would take the job, but the big question always remained of when he...

Aptos senior Anahi Macias was named the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League’s Player of the Year for the 2024-25 girls soccer season. The Mariners’ team co-captain finished with five goals and one assist.  Macias, the SCCAL’s reigning Defender of the Year, made the switch to...

APTOS—It’s been nearly a year since Aptos High junior Diego Hernandez was denied a league crown after coming up short to Harbor High’s Christian Cruz in last season’s wrestling finals. On Wednesday, he got a chance at some redemption against his newly formed Santa Cruz...

Aptos High senior Rachel Hoops got a late start to the 2023 cross country season after she returned from a school trip, causing her to miss some big races.   The biggest concern for her was getting left behind the rest of the competitive field which...

No pain, no gain.  It’s an idiom often used by athletes for motivation during some of the most grueling moments of their lives. Watsonville High graduate Ruben Mora had his fair share of those moments while donning a Wildcatz uniform. Whether it was overcoming injuries or...

WATSONVILLE—The annual Belgard Kup meeting between Pajaro Valley and Watsonville is usually a game filled with lots of mixed emotions both on and off the field. The cross-town rivals aren’t only playing for bragging rights but there’s also a sense of a “family rivalry” that...

Aptos High last week announced that Johnny Velez was named the new head coach for both the boys’ and girls’ wrestling teams. The 31-year-old Aptos High alum is replacing long time coach Rudy Guzman who retired at the end of the 2023-24 season. Guzman was an...

APTOS— All the cards were on the table for Aptos High heading into Tuesday night’s win or go home situation in the Central Coast Section playoffs. It was also one final chance for the five Mariners seniors including Trevor Brady to play on their home...

APTOS—Aptos High football coach Randy Blankenship joined the state’s 300-win club last year, becoming one of a dozen coaches who have reached that feat. Prior to that he brought home four Central Coast Section championships to the Mariners’ program since he arrived in 2010.  But the...